Prevalence of hepatitis B, C and D among patients on highly active antiretroviral drug therapy (HAART) in Calabar metropolis, Nigeria

Received 02 October 2017 Revised 15 December 2017 Accepted 05 January 2018 Early online 31 January 2018 Print 31 January 2018 Co-infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Disease Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) with hepatitis is linked with amplified morbidity and mortality. This study was to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) among patients on highly active antiretroviral drug therapy (HAART). A total of 200 subjects currently on HAART and 50 non-HIV positive individuals (control subjects) aged 10-75 years were recruited for the study. Hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C viral antibodies were screened with ACON test strip while HDV was screened with human hepatitis D virus ELISA kit. Demographic data of subjects were obtained with questionnaires. Determination of the CD4 counts was done using the Cytoflow counter. Among the test subjects, prevalence of HBV infection was 16(8%), HCV was 6(3%), mixed infection with HBV and HCV was 2(1%), and HDV was 0(0%). Among the control subjects, infection with HBV was 6(12%), 4(8%) for HCV and none for HDV or mixed infection. There was no statistically significant difference (p=0.491). Males had a higher occurrence of HBV infection 9(11.4%) and HCV infection 4(5.1%) than the females who had 7(5.8%) for HBV and 2(1.6%) for HCV, but this was not statistically significant (p=0.0879). Subjects with CD4 count range of 1401-1600 had the highest occurrence 1(20%) for HBV and 1201-1400 range for HCV 1(8.3%) but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.504). In conclusion, infection with HBV and HCV is widespread among patients on HAART and routine screening is advocated for efficient management of the disease. Corresponding author